Liam Dunne
MA Fine Art - Central Saint Martins, 2024
Liam Dunne focuses on the transient nature of things; humanity explored through its ephemeral life cycle and the effects of time on the mind and body.
His most recent project delved into the formation of identity in the ‘mirror stage’, wherein a person first recognises themselves as separate from their surroundings upon seeing their reflection, and how the psychological differs from the outer persona. He captured that through thickly sculpted flesh that retains wrinkles implanted by his fingertips, juxtaposed against the fragmented, disintegrating reflections showing the world through the mind; a memory or a dream – broken, imperfectly remembered.
Drawn more towards the latter idea, his paintings developed as moments captured through the lens of time. Never still nor not fully formed, they are not representations of a static sitter but rather part of a stream; entropy fracturing these fleeting moments in a person’s life. Everything is moving, and as time passes people look forward in fear and uncertainty and cling to the past, scrambling to retain an identity that was only true for a short period.
In the context of the universe, human life is comparable to a mayfly’s, yet there is beauty to be found and people are endlessly fascinating. It can be found in emotion, creativity or darkness, and the impact that humanity has on the planet. The world is shaped by it; Earth itself is a reflection of humanity. Dunne attempts to find something of all this through paint – the medium itself fluid and mouldable, a reflection of a reflection.
Awards and exhibitions:
Shortlisted - ArtGemini Prize, exhibition Zari Gallery in Fitzrovia in September 2023
Galeria Moderna Summer Exhibition, Cambridge 2023
London Art Biennale in Chelsea 2023
Winner - London Art 2020 prize, exhibiting at Castle Fine Art in Mayfair 2020
Contestant in Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018
Instagram: @liamdunneart
